Pressure will be on the midfielder to make a big impact under Carlo Ancelotti due to the astronomical £85.3million fee he commanded.

But Mendieta has warned even France legend Zinedine Zidane took time to acclimatise to life at the capital club.

“Real Madrid fans are going to have to be patient with Gareth Bale,” he told Drive Time.

“Hopefully he will settle very quickly but we have to remember even Zinedine Zidane needed some time to get into the team at Real Madrid and was booed by their fans.

“You have to remember when big players change teams they need time to settle with the club and in their family life outside of football. It’s a process Bale will have to go through.

“He is very talented. Physically he is very strong and technically he is good. If anything he has to adapt to the tempo of Spanish football.

“He isn’t going to have as much space as he does as he does in the Premier League as a lot of La Liga teams play with four defenders and two defensive midfielders. Sometimes in Spanish football you have to be a bit more patient.

“And most passes are, naturally, going to be to Cristiano Ronaldo. Bale is not going to get as many balls as he used to at Tottenham where players would find him instinctively.”